URGENT: TWEET AT AMBASSADOR JULIE CHUNG

United States (US) Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung must promote and protect international human rights law and standards while representing the United States abroad.

Ambassador Chung has witnessed the brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors in Sri Lanka and the Sri Lankan government’s misuse of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), a counterterrorism law that has been weaponized to stifle dissenting voices. She reacted by stating that the PTA goes against international standards for human rights and called on the government “to uphold the rights of the people to express their views.”

Recently, the Sri Lankan government announced its intention to replace the PTA with a new proposed law, the Anti-Terrorism Act, which is just as dangerous to the people of Sri Lanka, and which must not be enacted in its current form.  In response, Ambassador Chung called publicly on the government of Sri Lanka to engage "stakeholders on changes to anti-terrorism laws that align with int’l standards."

As the highest-ranking diplomat and US representative overseas, Ambassador Julie Chung must advocate for an environment that respects, protects and fulfills the right to protest, by pressuring the government of Sri Lanka to repeal the PTA and to drop or substantially revise the ATA. 

Take a moment to tweet at Ambassador Julie Chung and demand that she promotes, defends, and protects the right to peaceful protests in Sri Lanka.